Nebulized Tranexamic Acid in Secondary Post-Tonsillectomy Hemorrhage: Case Series and Review of the Literature.

INTRODUCTION: Post-tonsillectomy hemorrhage is a serious postoperative complication, and its acute management can present a challenge for the emergency provider. Although various strategies have been proposed, guidance on the best approach for management of this condition in the emergency department (ED) setting remains limited. Anecdotal reports of the use of nebulized tranexamic acid (TXA) for management of tonsillar bleeding have emerged over the past two years. Two recently published case reports describe the successful use of nebulized TXA for stabilization of post-tonsillectomy hemorrhage in an adult and a pediatric patient. CASE SERIES: Eight patients who presented to our ED with secondary post-tonsillectomy hemorrhage received nebulized TXA for hemostatic management. The most common TXA dose used was 500 milligrams, and all but one patient received a single dose of the medication in the ED. Hemostatic benefit was observed in six patients, with complete bleeding cessation observed in five cases. Interventions prior to nebulized TXA administration were attempted in three of the six patients and included ice water gargle, direct pressure with TXA-soaked gauze, and nebulized racemic epinephrine. All but one of the patients were taken to the operating room for definitive management after initial stabilization in the ED. CONCLUSION: Nebulized TXA may offer a hemostatic benefit and aid in stabilization of tonsillectomy hemorrhage in the acute care setting, prior to definitive surgical intervention. Consideration of general principles of nebulization and aerosol particle size may be an important factor for drug delivery to the target tissue site.

Analysis of Patients with Ventricular Assist Devices Presenting to an Urban Emergency Department.

INTRODUCTION: Left ventricular assist device (LVAD) insertion is an increasingly common intervention for patients with advanced heart failure; however, published literature on the emergency department (ED) presentation of this population is limited. The objective of this study was to characterize ED presentations of patients with LVADs with a focus on device-specific complications to inform provider education and preparation initiatives. METHODS: This was a retrospective chart review of all patients with LVADs followed at an urban academic medical center presenting to the ED over a five-year period (July 1, 2009, to June 30, 2014). Two abstractors reviewed 45 randomly selected charts to standardize the abstraction process and establish a priori categories for reason for presentation to the ED. Remaining charts were then divided evenly for review by one of the two abstractors. Primary outcomes for this study were (1) frequency of and (2) reason for presentation to the ED by patients with LVADs. RESULTS: Of 349 patients with LVADs identified, 143 (41.0%) had ED encounters during the study period. There were 620 total ED encounters, (range 1 to 32 encounters per patient, median=3, standard deviation=5.3). Among the encounters, 431 (69.5%) resulted in admission. The most common reasons for presentation were bleeding (e.g., gastrointestinal, epistaxis) (182, 29.4%); infection (127, 20.5%); heart failure exacerbation (68, 11.0%); pain (56, 9.0%); other (45, 7.3%); and arrhythmias (40, 6.5%). Fifty-two encounters (8.4%) were device-specific; these patients frequently presented with abnormal device readings (37, 6.0%). Interventions for device-specific presentations included anticoagulation regimen adjustment (16/52, 30.8%), pump exchange (9, 17.3%), and hardware repair (6, 11.5%). Pump thrombosis occurred in 23 cases (3.7% of all encounters). No patients required cardiopulmonary resuscitation or died in the ED. CONCLUSION: This is the largest study known to the investigators to report the rate of ED presentations of patients with LVADs and provide analysis of device-specific presentations. In patients who do have device-specific ED presentations, pump thrombosis is a common diagnosis and can present without device alarms. Specialized LVAD education and preparation initiatives for ED providers should emphasize the recognition and management of the most common and critical conditions for this patient population, which have been identified in this study as bleeding, infection, heart failure, and pump thrombosis.

Recurrent Priapism Gone Wrong: ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction and Cardiogenic Shock After Penile Corporal Phenylephrine Irrigation.

BACKGROUND: Recurrent priapism secondary to sickle cell trait in an African-American male has been reported in the literature. A common treatment for these low-flow priapism cases is aspiration and injection of the corpus cavernosum with a sympathomimetic agent. We report a rare complication not described previously in the literature of ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and cardiogenic shock in a 29-year-old male with sickle cell trait undergoing a routine detumescence procedure. CASE REPORT: A 29-year-old African-American male with a history of sickle cell trait and recurrent low-flow/ischemic priapism presented with a painful erection for 8 h. Corporal aspiration and irrigation with phenylephrine was performed. After phenylephrine injection, the patient experienced hypertensive emergency, flash pulmonary edema, STEMI, and subsequent cardiogenic shock. He required intubation, ionotropic support, cardiac catheterization, and admission to the cardiac care unit. History taken from the patient's wife on the following day revealed that he was taking high doses of pseudoephedrine at home to treat symptoms. The patient was subsequently discharged after 3 days with normalization of ejection fraction and negative troponin. WHY SHOULD AN EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN BE AWARE OF THIS?: Intracavernosal injection of phenylephrine is a common emergency department treatment utilized in management of priapism, but emergency physicians should be aware of the potential severe systemic complications resulting from this procedure. Providers should take a careful history, including over-the-counter medication use; consider comorbid medical history; standardize phenylephrine mixing instructions with pharmacy; and perform the procedure in a monitored setting with a brief observation after complete detumescence.